@Harvey26 wrote:@Aim_High and thats is DMs concern about switching to AMEX. she wants it to be visa or mc.
If that is the major concern, @Harvey26, it may be inconsequential depending on circumstances.
- Within the USA, AMEX acceptance used to be a much larger concern but they've made improvements over the years. Currently, AMEX acceptance within the US is very high. Unless she travels internationally very often, and also depending on where she travels, she may rarely-if-ever run into acceptance issues. Domestically, AMEX is accepted at 99% of merchants, which is within 1% of Mastercard, Visa, and Discover. (Nilson survey data: Feb 2020.) Internationally, Visa or Mastercard are the preferred pay option in more locations although acceptance varies widely by country. (It's always a good idea to check card acceptance before traveling to international destination.)
- WHERE she shops may matter within the US. My experience is that acceptance has been more of a question at smaller shops or restaurants, likely because the vendor didn't want to pay AMEX's higher surcharges. If she shops mostly at large chain locations, acceptance would probably be unquestioned, as long as they accept credit cards at all. The most notably exception that comes to mind is that Costco will only accept Visa cards in-store.
- If most of her shopping is locally and at some of the same locations, she could note at checkout for the next few weeks whether they accept AMEX. AMEX also has a locator map where she could check in-advance for locations that accept it. That might assuage her concerns. See >this link<.
- Does DM have another credit card or debit card? I think it's always a good idea to spare an alternate way-to-pay, but I do especially advise that for AMEX/Discover cardholders since their networks are a little less complete than Visa/Mastercard. That's really all she needs if acceptance is her major concern, either a backup MC/VS or a debit card.
@Harvey26 wrote:@Aim_High She does bank with NFCU so she has a debit card but she never uses it as she uses her credit card for everything. She has another card with the local credit union but she only carrys and uses her NFCU credit card. I also looked at Citi DC as well might be a better alternative. She does receive quite alot of mailers from them.
Gotcha. Still, I would share with her about the AMEX acceptance changes I showed you. She might be pleasantly surprised.
A flat-rate 2% card could be a good solution and there are lots of them now. Double Cash is okay, although it's never been one of my favorites.
If she banks with NFCU, dislikes the FSR $49 AF, doesn't want an AMEX, but wants to keep things simple, I have another suggestion: She could downgrade the FSR to the cashRewards Visa (no AF) and as long as she has a Direct Deposit, she'll earn an upcapped 1.75% on all purchases. Sure, not as much as a 2% or 3%/3%/1% or 5%/3%/1% format, but it's easy and might appeal to her if she likes simplicity. One login will manage her charges and finances without changing banks or a new card application. And no AMEX.
If she continues to want VS/MC and doesn't mind Comenity as a lender, perhaps the AAA cards would be attractive to her, depending on her spending patterns.
I have a few other suggestions that haven't been mentioned.
- Does she have cellphone with Verizon? Verizon Visa earns 4% on groceries and gas plus 3% on dining and 2% on Verizon with no AF. <sigh> but yes, like the AAA card, it's Synchrony so that might be a question. And rewards have to be redeemed in Verizon Dollars. However, no caps, it's a VISA, and it fits her spending categories.
- Bank of America's Customized Cash Rewards might be a better choice than a 2% card if her spending is more groceries + gas. Select gas at the 3% category, earn 2% on grocery and wholesale, and 1% elsewhere. No AF and the cap is $2500 per quarter ($10K annually) on the 3% + 2% category rewards before it reverts to 1%.
- I haven't mentioned it yet for a couple of reasons, but there is also the UMB Simply Rewards card. UMB (United Missouri Bank) is geofenced. They service my AFBA/UMB card which is under the Simply Rewards program now. The card earns 3x points (3% equivalent) on gas, dining, groceries, and discount stores - all uncapped with no AF. (Earns 1x points elsewhere.) Beyond the geofence, I can't say I've been overly impressed with UMB, but they are fine. Their technology (website/app) remained very dated until a couple of years ago and is still not as current as some other lenders. New charges may not show up for days. And they've never preemptively caught fraud on my cards, which has happened a few times in my 25 years with them. But the card has very good rewards in the major spending categories, is issued as a Visa, has no AF, and has no spending caps so it checks a lot of boxes for her.
If DM has an iPhone and is willing to or does use mobile wallet, may I also suggest the Goldman Sachs Apple Mastercard.
- 3% rewards at Walgreen's and Exxon-Mobile, besides others.
- 2% rewards anywhere Apple Pay is accepted, which probably includes her grocery stores and gas stations.
- 1% everywhere else.
With the 2%/3% categories, she might end up better than a 1.75% NFCU cashRewards or even a flat 2% card.
Physical titanium Mastercard to swipe anywhere Apple Pay not accepted.
Security features with no card number on the card and option to regularly change the CVV code for additional safety.
She can apply within Apple Wallet with a SP pre-approval to include APR and SL. (HP after acceptance.)
Easy card management from within the Apple Wallet, so no additional websites to manage. This is a big benefit compared to a 2% card from another lender besides NFCU if she carries an iPhone.
@Bmom wrote:Doesn't the AAA card issuer vary by region? Mine looks like it would ve Comenity if I applied, but isn't there another option if you're not in the NE?
No, all AAA regions are transitioning to Comenity from Bank of America, @Bmom. It might be confusing because it is a recent change (Nov 2022) and also, if someone goes to apply they always refer you back through your local AAA region website.
@AndySoCal wrote:@Harvey26 Here is link I searched the internet for some help. The search was cash back on gas and groceries. The link will show I few cards but Citi Premier seems to be a good option
https://www.cardrates.com/advice/best-credit-cards-for-gas-and-groceries/
I would agree that Citi Premier can be a great card for gas or groceries, @AndySoCal. However, in this case, DM wants to stop paying her $49 AF on NFCU FSR and the Premier would just replace that with a higher AF of $95. Now, there is an option to credit the AF if she uses the annual $100 hotel credit (on a stay of $500 or more) but it adds a complication that might not be useful.
Also, if DM wants cash back or statement credit, the Premier is not the best option. This is more of a travel card that works best when the TY points earned are redeemed by transfer to travel partners. The value of TY points for cash, gift cards, or statement credit can be as-high as 1 cpp ... but is often less, sometimes as little as 0.5 cpp. YMMV. (*Edit: For Premier card, TY points are worth 1 cpp per discussion with @SouthJamaica.) And TY point value would be further weighed down by the AF if the hotel credit was not useful. (*See >this link< for discussion of TY point value.)
@Aim_High wrote:
@Bmom wrote:Doesn't the AAA card issuer vary by region? Mine looks like it would ve Comenity if I applied, but isn't there another option if you're not in the NE?
No, all AAA regions are transitioning to Comenity from Bank of America, @Bmom. It might be confusing because it is a recent change (Nov 2022) and also, if someone goes to apply they always refer you back through your local AAA region website.
+1
@Aim_High wrote:
@AndySoCal wrote:@Harvey26 Here is link I searched the internet for some help. The search was cash back on gas and groceries. The link will show I few cards but Citi Premier seems to be a good option
https://www.cardrates.com/advice/best-credit-cards-for-gas-and-groceries/
I would agree that Citi Premier can be a great card for gas or groceries, @AndySoCal. However, in this case, DM wants to stop paying her $49 AF on NFCU FSR and the Premier would just replace that with a higher AF of $95. Now, there is an option to credit the AF if she uses the annual $100 hotel credit (on a stay of $500 or more) but it adds a complication that might not be useful.
Also, if DM wants cash back or statement credit, the Premier is not the best option. This is more of a travel card that works best when the TY points earned are redeemed by transfer to travel partners. The value of TY points for cash, gift cards, or statement credit can be as-high as 1 cpp but is often less, sometimes as little as 0.5 cpp. YMMV. And TY point value would be further weighed down by the AF if the hotel credit was not useful.
The cash value of TY points is exactly 1 cent.